International Trade Agreements

Foreign trade economic relations among nations are developed on the basis of bilateral and

multilateral agreements. Let us consider a few of them.

Several international commodity agreements have been signed in the past. They have included

cocoa, coffee, olive oil, rubber, sultanas, sugar, timber, wheat, and tin. It has been a feature of

the markets in primary commodities that imbalance between supply and demand gives rise to

vide fluctuations in prices. Primary commodities often have long production cycles which are

difficult to adjust to bring into equilibrium with relatively short-run fluctuations in demand. At

At the same time, the development of the economies of the primary producing countries can depend

heavily on the export earnings of these commodities, with the result that, in response to a

fall in demand, there can be a tendency to increase supply to maintain total earnings in the face

5.Развивающиеся страны в основном остаются поставщи-

Personaly, I.

ками сырья, продовольствия и несложных технологи-

I think should be frank to say that.

чески изделий на мировой рынок. Назовите наиболее itegv tacehouxy c'an Iy smr'ro I

отсталые (backward), по вашему мнению, страны афри-

answer.

канского и азиатского континентов.

6. Международная торговля выступает в качестве замени-

I supose the

main thing is теля международной мобильности ресурсов. Что, по ва-

imigration laws.

шему мнению, ограничивает миграцию реального капи-

The things are not so easy, the interna-

31

Vocabulary Notes to Text 2.7.1.1

1. commodity agreements — товарные соглашения

2. imbalance between supply and demand — дисбаланс между предложением и спросом

3. wide fluctuations in prices — большие колебания в ценах

4. long production cycles — длительные производственные циклы

5. export earnings — доходы от экспорта

6. in the face of intensified competition — в условиях усиленной конкуренции

7. maintenance of prices — поддержание цен

8. export quota — экспортная квота

9. floor — минимальный уровень (цен)

10. “buffer” stock — буферный запас (стабилизационный)

11. the production... and encouraging its consumption — производство и поддержка

(стимулирование) его потребления

12. the sole agreement — единое соглашение

2.7.1.2.Translate the text “The Classification of Least-Developed Countries According to the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development” and compare the average per capita income

for developing and least-developed countries.

The Classification o f Least-Developed Countries According to the United Nations

Con f e on Trernacdee and Development

In 1971 the General Assembly of UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)

drew up a list of twenty-four countries, which it defined as least-developed, having a per

capita gross domestic product of $100 (at 1968 prices) or less, a share of manufacturing of 10 per

cent or less of GDP and a literacy rate of 20 per cent or less. By 1980 thirty-one countries were

classified as least-developed, by 1990 forty-one and by 1995 forty-eight countries, of which, thirtythree

were in Africa, nine in Asia, five in the Pacific and one in the Caribbean. In 1993 their average

per capita income was $300, compared with $906 for all developing countries and $21,598 for the

advanced countries. LDC growth rates have persistently fallen behind the rest of the world since

the 1970s. They depend heavily on primary agricultural products such as cotton, tea and coffee and

are, therefore, vulnerable to falling commodity prices. Recessions in the advanced countries not

only lead to reduced demand for their products but also to a drop in private remittances from

abroad and foreign investment. There have also been failures in their institutions to protect and

sustain a viable economic structure for the promotion of growth.